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L R TURNER COTTON HABTES'IBYRLA No.` 515,031. y Patentd Feb. 20, 1894-.

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RQTURNER. COTTON HARVESTER.

No.' 515,031.` Patetea Feb. zo, 1-894.

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UNITED Sraiss l arent einen.

LEONARD R. TURNER-OF SING SIN G, .ASSIGNOR TO THE SOUTHERN COTTOl lHARVESTER COMPANY. OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION' forming part or Letters Patent 1vol COTTON-aantasten.

Application filed February 27,1893. Serial No. 463,979. (No model.)

515,031, dated February 20, 1894.

' :o .proved cotton harvester'.l

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, LEONARD R. TURNER, of Sing Sing, in the county ofWestchester and v State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedColton-llarvesteiyof which the following is a specication, referencebeing had tothe annexed drawings, forming` a part thereof, in which-Figure 1 is a perspective view of my im- Fig. 2 is a plan View of one ofthe fenders and its Whips. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the saine. Fig.4 is a plan view of one of the fenders with the top removed. Fig. 5 is avertical transverse sectionof one ofthe fenders. Fig. G is an invertedplan view, partly in section, of one of the sections of a fender. Fig. 7is 'a plan View of two sections of thc-renders with theirV Acapsremoved, showing the relative arrange zo ment of the fenders and whips.Fig. S is a broken plan view, showing theyielding tloor and thecarriers; and Fig. l) is a broken enlarged detail plan view of the frontend of the floor and carriers. z5 Similar letters of reference indicatecorro- Aspending parts inzall the views.

'The object of my invention is to construct a cotton harvesting machinein which the cotton will be removed from the plants by slight 3oconcussions on tliestalks of the plants, or on the boils, therebybloosening the cotton which has matured, Y while leaving the unopenedbolls undisturbed. y

My invention consists in the combination with a suitable drivingmechanism, of a series of cylindrical fenders carrying resilient whipscapable of turning back on their pivotalsuppor1s,and at thc same timeswinging into the fenders when coming in contact with 21o anobstruction, such as the-branch or boli of a cotton plant, and ofspringing forward when released from tl1eobstruction and delivering ablow upon Aother branches or bolls ofthe plant, therebyloosening ltheripe cotton and delivering the cotton to the conveying mechanism, all aswill be hereinafter more fully described.

The body A, of my improved cotton harvester,-is supported upon wheelsc., a", l), b.

5o 'lhe'said body is provided at the top with a frame for supporting theside pieces ll, the

l lows, see Figs. S and il.

said side pieces. being each Vprovided with a floor furnished with aseries of pivoted plates on opposite sides of a central longitudinal4slot extending through the body, and allow- 55 ing ot the passagethrough the machine ofthe cotton plants from which the fiber is to begathered. The swinging platesv allow the stalks and branches'to passthrough, but are closed before and behind Ithe branches, thus 6oconstituting a practically complete floor for receiving cotton removedby the mechanism presently to be described.

lu the door of the side pieces B, are arranged endless carriers C, whichreceive the cotton and convey it to the rear of the machine, deliveringit to the elevator D, which carries the cotton upwardly and dischargesit into'sacke il. v The yielding lloor and carriers form no part 7o ofthe present invention. Their construction and arrangement brieflydescribed are as foi- 'lhe carriers O are suitably supported to leave acentral longi- 'tudinal passageway through the machine, 7 5 whichpassageway is covered by the yielding flooring composed ofa series ofoppositely disposed pivoted plates O that overlap at their free ends.Suitably connected with each plate near its pivot, as at C2, is a spiralspring 8o C3, the opposite'ends of the springs being sel cured toany'suitable support. The springs normally throw the plates C', so as tocover the passage. i l

Upon the wheels d, ci', are placed the S5 sprocket wheels c, c', whichdrive the shaft Z by means of chains connecting said sprocket wheelswith sprocket wheels on the shaft d,

and the said shaft J communicates motion to the shaft o through thechain f connecting the vv9o sprocket wheels on the shaft d with sprocketwheels on th'e shaft c, and the shaft e, through bevel gearing, drivesthe shafts g extending along the top of the body A, and the said shaftsg communicate rotary motion to vertical shafts 7i journaled in the sidepieces B, li, by means of the miter gearing i.

The machine as described up to this point is not new, and does not forma part of the mechanism specially claimed in the present rooapplication,l and will therefore require no further description.

Upon the shafts h are placed cylinders or fenders F, formed ofsectionsj. The cylin ders or fenders upon opposite sides of the machineare precisely alike, with the exception of being oppositely arrangedwith respect to each other, therefore a description of one of thefenders will answerforall. Each section y of the fender F, consists of ahollow eylin drical rim 7c, attached to or formed integrallywith the hubm, which is fitted to the shaft h. 'The hubof each sectionj is providedwith a boss n, which is bored and tapped to r eceive the' scrcw'u'forclamping the section un ttre shaft, and in lthe riin 7o is formed anaperture 15 p, through which may be inserted a screw driver in order toturn the screw o, and in. the lower part of the rim of each section areformed sockets r, at cquidistant points around the rim 7c,for receivingthe tongues s project- :zo lng from the riin t of the next sectionbelow,

3o whips G are preferably' made of spring steel i lb wire, the spiral Gwhich surrounds the boss u consisting of three or four coiivoliitions.This spiral G' forms a reinforcngspring to the resilient whip G. Theportion oi the whip G which projects through the slot if is curvedforward slightly, so that the whip presents a concave front side.

Each section y' of the fender is provided with arms iu, formedintegrallywith the web Z, and the said arms of the upper section, whenthe spirals G of the whips G are put upon the bosses u, extend over thebosses u of the next section below, and so on througliout the series ofsections forming the fenders, the arms it' serving to hold the spiralportions G' ot' the resilient whips G on the bosses u.

The upper section 7' ol' the fender is closed at the top by a cover Il,formed of a disk d', provided with ahub m furnished with aboss n and setscrew o', the said screw servingr to clamp the cover ll inits positionover the upper section `et' the fender. The said up per section isprovided with socketsr, which receive tongues s project-ingl downwardlyfrom the cover ll.

The fenders F are arranged in two series, in the present case of five ineach series, one series beingupon either side of the centrallongitudinal slot through the bottom of the body A, and the rotarymotion imparted to the fenders is siicli as to cause the whips G in thecenter of the machine to swing toward the forward end of the body A,thus meeting the plants as they enter the front of the inachine.

When one of the resilient whips G strikes a branch of a cotton plant ora boil, or a number (it branches, the fcnderis carried around, while thewhip G isdetained by the branches and partially folds within tbe fenderandl takes the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, whereupon thebranches or other obstructions slip from the end of the whip,and the whip swiu gs forward by its own elasticity, l

striking a blow upon any portion of theplang."

lyingr in front ot it, thereby jarring thb branch isor the boils withsuilicientforce to loesen''lhe ripe cotton and cause it to fall to thebottom of rbc body A, unless during its fall it is struck by therevolving whips and carried ont laterally tothe side oi the machine',where it falls upon the traveling belt or endless carrier. As the whipswings or `folds back into the fender as described, the sliding motionof the whip along the slot tends to strip the whip of any cottonadhering to it. Owingr to the great elasticity ot the whips, the blowsdelivered to the plant by tlieseveral whips are not such as to injurethe stalks, branches, or green bells, but are snlticient to loosen anddetach the ripe cotton from the boils already opened.

'The revolving fenders and whips may be placed at dlierent heights fordifferent parts of the harvesting season, being placed low down in themachine for the early portion, in

an intermediate position for the middle portion, and at a higherelevation for the latter portieri of the harvest wlienthe bells are ripeat the top of the plant.

It is obvious that I may attach the resilient whips and fenders to anyknown form of mechanism that will inove them into the path ot' thecotton plants, carry them forward and canse them to engage the branchesand boils of the cotton plants, and afterward to slip oit` and strikeother branches and boils so as to loosen the ripe cotton, thereforel donot limit myself to the exact form and arrangement of the parts hereinshown and described.

rl`lie effectiveness of the whips it will be seen is not alone diie' totheir resiliency, but results also from the fact that they yield bodilyfrom the point u, to permit the forward movement of the fender surface,independently ot the intersecting portions of the whips when the lattermeet the resistance of the plants.

I do not claim herein the yielding platform shown in Figs. 8 and 9, asthe same is claimed in application tiled by me" and (J. A. feller onAugust 4, 1892, Serial No. 442,163.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patenti l. A cotton harvester provided with a pick-IIO ing device comprising a revoliible fender formed in its rim withsegmental guiding slots, and resilient whips secured attheir ,".nncrends within the said fender and projecting with their free ends throughthe said guiding slots and beyond the rim of the said fender,substantially as shown and described.`

2. A cotton harvester provided with a piel;- ing device comprising afender made linset;- tions, and a setof resilient whips interposedbetween two adjacent sections and proj ecting with their free endsbeyond the rim of the fender, substantially as shown and described.

3. A cotton harvester provided witha pickingdevicecomprisngarevolublefender made in circular sections, and formed with segm'ental guidingslots between two adjacent sections, and a set of resilient' Whipssecured-.tol the interior'of the fender and each whip projecting withits fv'ee'end through one ot' the said slots and a suitable distancebeyond the periphellytof the fender, substantially as shown anddescribed. f

4. A cotton harvester provided with a picking device comprising-aAfender made in 'sections, and a set of resilient whips interposedbetween tw adjacent sections and projecting with their free ends beyondthe rim of the fender, each of the said whips being secured at its innerend to the interior ot' the fender, and limiting stops for the saidwhips on the said fender, substantially as shown and del scribed.

5. A cotton harvester provided with a picking device comprising 'arevoluble fender made in circular sections, forming segmental MMguidingslots between each two'adjacent sec-A Yss tions, a series of resilientwhips'interposed between eachA twe vadjacent sections, each whip beingfastened to the corresponding section between the rim and center of thesection, and guided loosely in a corresponding slot,.the whip projectinga suitable distance beyond the rim of the fender, substantially as shownand described.'

6. In a cotton picker, the combination of rotary Whips and afendertherefor, the Whips being connected at a point within the fender,extending outward therethrough, and yielding'from a point within thefenders, thus permitting a forward rotary movement ofthe sectingportions of the whips when thelatter neet resistance, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a cotton picker,the combmationof yieldingrotary whips, and afender therefor, tlrewhips being secured at a point within the 'fidenextending outward therethrough; and tgfender having` slots or openingsthat per-v f'mia rotary movement of the fender surface independent of ithe intersecting portions of subtggnttally` as described.

' Sectio nfrormedorhubweb, riii'r'ig'arms, basses a4 deagremand'resilient whips Ihaving rein# forcing spf'rings or spirals which areplaced on the bossesof the fenders and furnished with angled endsinserted in the'ears of the fenders, substantially as specified.

9. In a cotton harvester, a revoluble fender provided with slotsarranged at right angles to the axis of the fender', and spring whipsconnected with the inner portions of the fender and' projecting throughthe slots, subst-an` tially as specified.

10. In a cotton harvester, a revoluble chambered fender provided withslots arranged at right angles to the axis thereof, and spring whipsconnected with the interior of the fender at or near the advancing orforward ends' of the slots and projecting through the said slots in anapproximately radial direction, substantially as specified. i

11. In acotton harvester, a revoluble chamberedffender formed of ,seriesof sections j placedon the shaft h, leaving'slots t between vthesections, and spring whips G, placed on bosses u in the interior of thesections and extending through the slots, each section being providedwith radial arms w for strengthening the web and rim, and for retainingthe spring whips on theirbosses, substantially as specified.

LEONARD R. TURNER.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN F. KIFT,

fender surface independently of the inter- WINFIELD S. SMITH.

the whips whenthe latter meet resistance,

